So my daughter has been sleeping through the night for at least a year if not more. Suddenly she has taken to waking in the middle of the night and going into her brother's room and climbing into bed with him. I wouldn't care except it disrupts his sleep and he's asked us to keep her out of his room. We've tried talking to her about it (you need to stay in your bed all night), asking her to stay put until someone comes and gets her, etc. Last night she was up at 1:45 coughing (has a sinus cold) and I went to check on her and she was in her brother's bed. His eyes were open but apparently he doesn't remember - lol - and she was wide awake. I moved her back to her bed and went back to sleep. At 5:30am I heard her making noise - went upstairs and she was wide awake in her bed (at least that was a plus) but had a toy she had gone downstairs to get. I told her it was too early and she needed to stay in bed. Our house is really small and we keep a light on so I'm not super worried about her getting hurt but I"m definitely tired of playing referee all night long - I'm tired! LOL
Any ideas on how to keep her in her room (short of locking her door - I really don't want to go down that path)
Start an incentive chart. Every night she stays in her bed until the approved wake-up time, she gets a sticker. After she gets so many stickers, she gets an agreed upon prize. Start with 3 stickers, then gradually increase. The prizes don't have to be something big, just something that she's really excited to get and willing to work for. Good luck!
put a baby gate up, is for her own good until she learns to stay in her room, if she gets up (im assuming your a sahm) she can play for a little while then go back to sleep and wont disturb her brother.
to go along with the "approved time" to get out of bed, I saw these night lights that work on a timer and when it shows the sun you can get out of bed, if not, you need to stay put.
Since kids can't tell time and it does get light earlier outside now. . .could help.
Also, would putting a few little toys, books and a flashlight keep her put in the event she is waking up. At least she won't have to wander and end up in her bubby's bed:)
I had a wanderer and the book/flashlight combo really helped. It lasted about a month and then back to sleeping like a log.
You can't. She's having trouble sleeping. We all have sleepless nights once in awhile. When I have trouble sleeping sometimes I watch tv, sometimes I read a book, sometimes I get some laundry done. It happens. It's part of life. And it happens to 3 year olds, too. It sucks that we have to get up also in order to supervise, but that's just part of being a parent.
My husband and I deal with it by taking turns. If one of our boys wakes up in the middle of the night and it's clear that he's not going to go back to sleep, one of us takes him into the living room or downstairs and is up with him (usually praying he will fall back to sleep). If it happens again the next night, it's the other parent's turn.
You just kind of have to deal with it for a few days. She'll get back to normal soon. Hang in there!
I second the nightlight that turns into a sun when it's time to get out of bed.
Put some books and toys in a bin next to her bed. Let her know that if the moon light is still on, she has to stay in bed but she can look at books.
Give her rewards for staying in bed, even if she's not sleeping.
Good luck!
She may be getting cold, hot, hungry, lonely, etc..there may even be the same car or motorcycle driving down the street at the same time every morning.
I would make sure she has a good snack about half an hour before bed, limit any foods or drinks that have any caffeine in them during the last half of the day, make sure she has the proper amount of blankets, then tell her she is welcome to come get in bed with you. At least that way the boy can sleep through the night. She will come to you and then you'll be the only other one woke up.
She is just growing and maybe not needing as much sleep. You could also try moving her bedtime back half an hour or more. She may just not need any more sleep past that time. I'd much rather have some one sleep a little later than have them waking every morning so early.
